tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:10:48 +0000postcardsadvertisingillustrationarchitectureparistransportfranceamericanarailwaysphotographytrainsartmagazinesvictoriangraphic designlondonGermanybooksnew yorkstationstobaccotramsbrusselsarcadesbelgiumillustration advertisingindustrymetrooutdoor advertisingart nouveaumusicItalyantwerpcaliforniamarseillebridgebusindiamilanmoviesnightscenespaintingparis postcardsshoppingberlincornwallfilmfloridametrolandpast and presentEgyptarchitecture paris francebawdenbridgeschristmasconfectionerycubacutawaysdorsetengineeringhistoryjapanmeccanomodernismmr peanutpetite ceinturesculpturestreetcarsswitzerlandtravelart decobeerbordersbostonbuttes-chaumontcartoonceramicschicagochocolatecinemacomicsdesigneditorialexhibitionfoodfrontiersh m brockjournalismliverpoollos angelesmodern wondermonkey brandparis transportplanterspoliticsport sunlightposterspublicityrailway graphicssuburbstorinotrade cardstransporter bridgesturinvacationyorkshirearchitectural ceramicsarchitecture transportbarbèsbbcbradfordbristolcanalcappiellocardiffcarscelebrity endorsementcemeterycharles holdenclevedonclichécollectablescrockwellegyptian stylefaecesghentglobegoldgraphic fictionguimardguinnessh m batemanindustrial architectureinventionisle of wightlinen postcardslondon transportmanchestermanchester ship canalmapsmarketingmemorymondrianmoscowmétronantesnapolinormandypicklespierpolemicpolychromepostcards transport trainsprintingradio timesromanceseasidesporttelevisiontilestrams Milantunnelunderground railwaysvichyvictor hortawuppertalAirshipsBlimpsDirigiblesGenoaPrecisionismZeppelinsadvertising coffee Italyadvertising packagingadvertising scrapbookaerial viewsal mosheral parkeralbert dornealbertopolisalex rossalfred janniotallenburysalligatorsalphabetamerican airlinesamerican railroadsanimationantapathyatlantic cityautomataviationbartholdibbc handbooksbeebelfortbetty boopbibendumbirkenheadbirthdaybiscuitsblair hughes-stantonbob dylanbobignybois de boulognebon amibookmarkbordeauxbosco verticalebrittanyburmaburton'sbébé cadumc w baconcaillebottecasa galimberticasablancacecil keelingcharlie gillettchartismcherry blossomchevroletcigarettescleethorpesclevelandclifford webbcoffeecollagecolognecoloradocontainerscouplescrossnesscrossrailcrowdscubismcustardde stijldeauvilledelacroixdeposito messinaderbyshiredetroitdevondevonportdiatribedick sargentdieppedinersdocksdohanosduchampdufye mcknight kaufferedward burraelephantephemeraeric frasereric raviliousfenoglioferryflâneurfootballforeign officefrank gehryfrank pickfunicularfuture visionsgeorgiangericaultghostsignsglasgowgraphisgreat western railwaygrimsbygroucho marxharboursharman-isinghatehavanahebden bridgeheronsgatehigh shoalshollywoodhot club of cowtownhoulgatehuddersfieldhullimminghamingresinteriorsjackfieldjon whitcombl ashwell woodl'illustrationla défenselas vegasle corbusierleedsleipzigleslie carrlevel crossingleylandlife magazineliteraturelockwood and mawsonlocomotiveslogosluganolvmhmagrittemarcel aymémarcellusmarinelandmegalithsmeniermexicomichelinmilanomodelsmonsal trailmontmartremontparnassemotoringmuseummusée d'orsaymusée hortamystery housenagasakinarbonnenewportnicenoisielnorfolkoaklandoffice lifeoilolympicsopen house londonostendeostrichoutsider artoxopackagingparachutesparc monceaupere lachaisepicassopicturesquepittsburghplymouthpontiacpooleporte doréeportspostcards advertisingpostcards marseilleposters advertisingpostmodernismpremio dardos awardprovidencerack railwayradicalismradiorailroadsrailways graphicsraymond hoodreminiscencerietveldriver nilerockwellrodchenkorotterdamrouenrydesacramentosailorssaltairesan antoniosassi-supergaschedulesschlitzscotlandseatownsemaphoresentimentseuratsheffieldshippingsignssnowsolingensomersetspartanburgst pancrasstampsstatuarysteel industrystile libertystreet furniturestreet runningsubwaysuperstitionsurrealismswanageswindontexastheatretijuanatimetabletimetablestinstitus salttoblertransport france paristriviatrolleybusestrouvilletyphooutrechtvan goghvillaggio leumannwalker evanswalkingwartime advertisingwestern swingweymouthwhitehallwilliam burgeszoozurenborgPhil Beardnotes on the arts and visual culturehttp://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)Blogger624125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-4023619624034730701Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:10:00 +00002015-03-31T17:10:48.524+01:00metrométroparisparis postcardsparis transportParis Métro Line 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFlNFN2NwHE/VRrESaJ5RUI/AAAAAAAAHps/cN6-aJiljkU/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFlNFN2NwHE/VRrESaJ5RUI/AAAAAAAAHps/cN6-aJiljkU/s1600/a.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Métro Line 6 starts and finishes north of the Seine but for most of its length loops through the outer southern arrondissements flying high above the boulevards with intermittent subterranean descents. From east to west it begins underground at L’Etoile, emerging into the daylight at Passy before launching itself across the river on the Pont Bir-Hakeim. It follows a green corridor on a viaduct through the 15th. and 14th. until descending to tunnel beneath the Montparnasse district after which a second elevated section extends to Place d’Italie where it dips below ground again. Another rooftop glide leads via Quai de la Gare, recrossing the river at Pont de Bercy whence the line runs underground to Nation with only a brief burst of daylight at Bel-Air.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R2MxRwrXD_k/VRrES2zAshI/AAAAAAAAHp4/pDZLgsPTRM4/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R2MxRwrXD_k/VRrES2zAshI/AAAAAAAAHp4/pDZLgsPTRM4/s1600/b.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Westbound train entering Bir Hakeim station</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hdkC2bLzi9Q/VRrETE96BrI/AAAAAAAAHpw/tkZwWtFa9rM/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hdkC2bLzi9Q/VRrETE96BrI/AAAAAAAAHpw/tkZwWtFa9rM/s1600/c.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Line 6 as seen from the top of Tour Montparnasse</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-80Fa2_jQ8j0/VRrETuThgpI/AAAAAAAAHp8/Z00TWHanwdQ/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-80Fa2_jQ8j0/VRrETuThgpI/AAAAAAAAHp8/Z00TWHanwdQ/s1600/d.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lcqnd2YUyx8/VRrEUkv4IsI/AAAAAAAAHqA/Bs7Uqv1LXc8/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lcqnd2YUyx8/VRrEUkv4IsI/AAAAAAAAHqA/Bs7Uqv1LXc8/s1600/e.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aerial view of Sèvres Lecourbe station</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wlaaj7f3InY/VRrEVEtg3oI/AAAAAAAAHqI/WTrwGeKze-w/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wlaaj7f3InY/VRrEVEtg3oI/AAAAAAAAHqI/WTrwGeKze-w/s1600/f.jpg" height="416" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JwPZvnnXjbU/VRrEnUKFWZI/AAAAAAAAHqk/0aCp-gzRHLw/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JwPZvnnXjbU/VRrEnUKFWZI/AAAAAAAAHqk/0aCp-gzRHLw/s1600/g.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Platforms at Quai de la Gare</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YCQwhrLzOdg/VRrEWrmkeHI/AAAAAAAAHqc/5F1xQPtAiKA/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YCQwhrLzOdg/VRrEWrmkeHI/AAAAAAAAHqc/5F1xQPtAiKA/s1600/h.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bel-Air where the train briefly surfaces</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/03/paris-metro-line-6.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-3490358118052091714Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:39:00 +00002015-03-25T11:39:20.748+00:00japanpostcardsPostcard of the Day No. 73 – Sand bathing in Japan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbFH3jUMIuo/VRKdZ7Rz0KI/AAAAAAAAHpM/rDNXhCry8sw/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbFH3jUMIuo/VRKdZ7Rz0KI/AAAAAAAAHpM/rDNXhCry8sw/s1600/a.jpg" height="416" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For anyone in search of geo-thermal excitement, the city of Beppu in the southernmost Japanese region of Kyushu is the place to visit. Hot springs bubble out of the earth in multiple locations while hydrothermal vents emit plumes of super-heated water. On the beach this heated water seeps into the volcanic sands in which the locals are happy to be all but interred in order to enjoy the therapeutic benefits on offer. If these postcards are any guide this also offers an opportunity for some serious posing – bathers display an impressive nonchalance towards the rising tide outside their field of vision. Western participants describe the agonies to be endured when arms and hands are buried and bodily itching breaks out. None of the Japanese bathers visible here have been silly enough to place themselves in that position.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XxpngHTTceQ/VRKdZsvC7gI/AAAAAAAAHpI/oatCEg4eXLY/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XxpngHTTceQ/VRKdZsvC7gI/AAAAAAAAHpI/oatCEg4eXLY/s1600/b.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFBcUbKomq8/VRKdaKX6iHI/AAAAAAAAHpQ/QLngizcsKOg/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFBcUbKomq8/VRKdaKX6iHI/AAAAAAAAHpQ/QLngizcsKOg/s1600/c.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/03/postcard-of-day-no-73-sand-bathing-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-2894874315866988913Thu, 19 Mar 2015 14:50:00 +00002015-03-19T14:50:04.844+00:00advertisingcutawaysAdvertising Cutaways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TXhUBuRIiRQ/VQrglwCOaAI/AAAAAAAAHng/-hTlM1-JXr4/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TXhUBuRIiRQ/VQrglwCOaAI/AAAAAAAAHng/-hTlM1-JXr4/s1600/a.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Cutaway drawings were valuable advertising tools in an age where dazzling the consumer with engineering complexity was an effective strategy. This glamorous Art Deco tableau from General Motors is publicising the <a href="http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/chicago-century-of-progress.html">Chicago Century of Progress</a> exhibition in 1933-34. The GM pavilion included a functioning production line turning out Chevrolet saloons, a fact that apparently enraged Henry Ford when he heard about it – especially as Ford had chosen not to exhibit until year two (1934). By this time the two major car-makers had seen off or absorbed most of the minor players in the industry and the exhibition would become virtually a private battle-ground between GM and Ford. Below is a selection of advertising cutaways from the pages of mid-century magazines of varying degrees of complexity and ingenuity. Some of them are especially extreme in their disruption of topographical integrity and offer the diverting spectacle of human beings striding purposefully to the edge of a precipice or descending a disassembled staircase, oblivious to the hideous fates that await them.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cpffUB-f3HM/VQrgkzKCTKI/AAAAAAAAHnc/BP_qMDKAw2U/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cpffUB-f3HM/VQrgkzKCTKI/AAAAAAAAHnc/BP_qMDKAw2U/s1600/b.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vtCzm6lPBl8/VQrgmFbdISI/AAAAAAAAHnk/od3IpIEWN8Q/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vtCzm6lPBl8/VQrgmFbdISI/AAAAAAAAHnk/od3IpIEWN8Q/s1600/c.jpg" height="640" width="490" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PPtYuVfcjaA/VQrgmjpl5MI/AAAAAAAAHns/Ne91RYdZHr0/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PPtYuVfcjaA/VQrgmjpl5MI/AAAAAAAAHns/Ne91RYdZHr0/s1600/d.jpg" height="640" width="472" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rt1ZN0XDwWA/VQrgnZXldoI/AAAAAAAAHn0/UtCK-garADQ/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rt1ZN0XDwWA/VQrgnZXldoI/AAAAAAAAHn0/UtCK-garADQ/s1600/e.jpg" height="640" width="506" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-By3MkIP6zgg/VQrgnyNejiI/AAAAAAAAHoA/t9UmO5bYx_E/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-By3MkIP6zgg/VQrgnyNejiI/AAAAAAAAHoA/t9UmO5bYx_E/s1600/g.jpg" height="640" width="508" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5KshxcQEZZQ/VQrgoe9YOLI/AAAAAAAAHoE/7Juy1Y7MA6c/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5KshxcQEZZQ/VQrgoe9YOLI/AAAAAAAAHoE/7Juy1Y7MA6c/s1600/h.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5gg6Cuiw-Y/VQrgprzE-OI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/ZYWw6rUN1EM/s1600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5gg6Cuiw-Y/VQrgprzE-OI/AAAAAAAAHoQ/ZYWw6rUN1EM/s1600/i.jpg" height="640" width="508" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTNud9UExs0/VQrgqEfe-9I/AAAAAAAAHoc/qlgltREKspQ/s1600/j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YTNud9UExs0/VQrgqEfe-9I/AAAAAAAAHoc/qlgltREKspQ/s1600/j.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/03/advertising-cutaways.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-3273574730722813898Fri, 06 Mar 2015 15:01:00 +00002015-03-06T15:01:26.285+00:00bartholdibelfortnew yorkparispostcardssculptureLion de Belfort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w6kkSvLAtXw/VPnAh87kNsI/AAAAAAAAHmI/tiMCD13MsLk/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w6kkSvLAtXw/VPnAh87kNsI/AAAAAAAAHmI/tiMCD13MsLk/s1600/a.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The world population of carved lions must rival that of the living and breathing variety. An association with nature at its most powerful and ruthless is universally desired by princes and tyrants. Despite occupying the summit of the food chain, the lion is routinely identified with superhuman courage and stamina unlimited. When the French nation was absorbing the humiliation sustained during the comprehensive military defeat at the hands of the Prussians in 1870-71, the heroic resistance of the French troops and local volunteers at the Siege of Belfort was a rare instance of successful defiance and quickly became an essential national story. In the interest of salvaging some vestige of national pride the event was celebrated by commissioning a massive carved lion to adorn the rock-face outside the town of Belfort. The work was carried out by Frédéric Bartholdi and completed in 1880. Bartholdi was the foremost monumental sculptor of his age and would become world famous for his carving of the Statue of Liberty. A more modest version of the Lion of Belfort was installed in a major street intersection to the south of Montparnasse that takes its present name (Place Denfert-Rochereau) from the name of the French commanding officer at Belfort. As the access point for the Parisian Catacombs, Place Denfert-Rochereau was formerly known as Place d’Enfer. Thus it could be renamed with minimal disruption.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yV1qs1ugyIM/VPnAiNdHpvI/AAAAAAAAHmQ/ADA5v0rgtQs/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yV1qs1ugyIM/VPnAiNdHpvI/AAAAAAAAHmQ/ADA5v0rgtQs/s1600/b.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REt5jTeZs-k/VPnAhtdEKBI/AAAAAAAAHmE/qH0AisMeY8U/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REt5jTeZs-k/VPnAhtdEKBI/AAAAAAAAHmE/qH0AisMeY8U/s1600/c.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcTkKZ3hGJ8/VPnAinz32pI/AAAAAAAAHmU/ZTcTiDuk1vo/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcTkKZ3hGJ8/VPnAinz32pI/AAAAAAAAHmU/ZTcTiDuk1vo/s1600/d.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b76z_J0MnlE/VPnAjRG6F0I/AAAAAAAAHmk/YMStn0LdYN0/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b76z_J0MnlE/VPnAjRG6F0I/AAAAAAAAHmk/YMStn0LdYN0/s1600/e.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vtri7DeTN_o/VPnAj69QdNI/AAAAAAAAHmo/dhBI8RUM_qY/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vtri7DeTN_o/VPnAj69QdNI/AAAAAAAAHmo/dhBI8RUM_qY/s1600/f.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fY5HSlZhLvo/VPnAkAWtzfI/AAAAAAAAHm0/AeTkWVuXFus/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fY5HSlZhLvo/VPnAkAWtzfI/AAAAAAAAHm0/AeTkWVuXFus/s1600/g.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/03/lion-de-belfort.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-649703789686309411Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:35:00 +00002015-02-24T11:35:26.055+00:00linen postcardsnightscenespostcardsspartanburgPostcard of the Night No. 9, Spartanburg SC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-ABHNCQoLI/VOxgsH9xmdI/AAAAAAAAHks/I9xVxHs_Eik/s1600/spartanburg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-ABHNCQoLI/VOxgsH9xmdI/AAAAAAAAHks/I9xVxHs_Eik/s1600/spartanburg.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The huge water tank is an outstanding structure of Camp Croft, SC. It can be seen many miles away and is a guide to aviators, military and commercial, whose route takes them through the Piedmont section of South Carolina. It stands 106 ft. high, 90 ft. in diameter, and when full holds nearly 2½ million gallons, and is the largest water tank in the state.&nbsp;</i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I can never see these tanks without being reminded of the lurid sequence of events that Donna Tartt orchestrated in the climax to “The Little Friend”. </span></div>http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/02/postcard-of-night-no-9-spartanburg-sc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-251100400333595575Sat, 21 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +00002015-02-21T13:06:19.824+00:00advertisingamerican railroadsamericanagraphic designrailroadsrailway graphicsrailwaysschedulestimetablesAmerican Railroad Journey Planners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ir4uoSJ-DEM/VOhyeLlv_8I/AAAAAAAAHjY/ctwHoE82_14/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ir4uoSJ-DEM/VOhyeLlv_8I/AAAAAAAAHjY/ctwHoE82_14/s1600/a.jpg" height="640" width="572" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A selection of schedules from American railroads, mostly from the 1940s. Some are from minor operations, others from the giants of railroading such as Pennsylvania Railroad, Santa Fe and the New York Central. They all offer the opportunity to plan the trip of your choice and visit many out of the way destinations in the privacy of your own imagination. If you have the inclination unreasonable amounts of time are easily wasted, immersed in masses of obsolete data. Once the war was over, the great American passenger railroads were in decline as the volume of private cars on the roads rapidly expanded. The love affair with the open road went from strength to strength as the network of Interstate Highways reached deeper into the heart of the nation. Switching from war to peace-time construction enabled the aviation industry to scoop up the majority of long distance travel and the downfall of the passenger railroads was complete in 1971 when Amtrak took over the last viable remnants of a once dominant network of routes.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ukq28BmotJ8/VOhydgpst-I/AAAAAAAAHjU/_6tUFjifk-Y/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ukq28BmotJ8/VOhydgpst-I/AAAAAAAAHjU/_6tUFjifk-Y/s1600/b.jpg" height="640" width="564" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yf4P9qKK0aI/VOhyeu9Rh-I/AAAAAAAAHjg/VabENWbGC3I/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yf4P9qKK0aI/VOhyeu9Rh-I/AAAAAAAAHjg/VabENWbGC3I/s1600/c.jpg" height="640" width="566" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iv_nSF-t_nE/VOhyfh9xDrI/AAAAAAAAHjs/v9WFoJwdzss/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iv_nSF-t_nE/VOhyfh9xDrI/AAAAAAAAHjs/v9WFoJwdzss/s1600/d.jpg" height="640" width="574" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DKfWvFLymks/VOhyf_l1S5I/AAAAAAAAHjw/ScncJb7Slcg/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DKfWvFLymks/VOhyf_l1S5I/AAAAAAAAHjw/ScncJb7Slcg/s1600/e.jpg" height="640" width="566" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZEoRLCkfZE/VOhygesGF1I/AAAAAAAAHj4/iWmGcSnEGA8/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZEoRLCkfZE/VOhygesGF1I/AAAAAAAAHj4/iWmGcSnEGA8/s1600/f.jpg" height="640" width="578" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXoMBcZo9Z0/VOhygzvPpsI/AAAAAAAAHkE/s9tBnbEId3Q/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXoMBcZo9Z0/VOhygzvPpsI/AAAAAAAAHkE/s9tBnbEId3Q/s1600/g.jpg" height="640" width="568" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m5jQqzeSHIU/VOhyhp2uw4I/AAAAAAAAHkI/AQ4y1lno-1w/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m5jQqzeSHIU/VOhyhp2uw4I/AAAAAAAAHkI/AQ4y1lno-1w/s1600/h.jpg" height="640" width="562" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SQI__LQsUgU/VOhyh7-lQcI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/DRUXpJe62tI/s1600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SQI__LQsUgU/VOhyh7-lQcI/AAAAAAAAHkQ/DRUXpJe62tI/s1600/i.jpg" height="640" width="568" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rVqVNHaLVAU/VOhyijsrMsI/AAAAAAAAHkY/__B_cx92dSY/s1600/j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rVqVNHaLVAU/VOhyijsrMsI/AAAAAAAAHkY/__B_cx92dSY/s1600/j.jpg" height="640" width="576" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/02/american-railroad-journey-planners.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-4509444655054318596Wed, 18 Feb 2015 12:08:00 +00002015-02-18T12:08:49.396+00:00EgyptpostcardsPostcard of the Day No. 72 – Egyptian Military Band<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JmzUDQF9kUA/VOR_WLPkICI/AAAAAAAAHjE/Utl_WarzZRE/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JmzUDQF9kUA/VOR_WLPkICI/AAAAAAAAHjE/Utl_WarzZRE/s1600/a.jpg" height="410" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last week’s trip to Egypt was not an undiluted triumph for Vladimir Putin. Whether by accident or design, he was welcomed by an Egyptian Military Band playing a blissfully off-key version of the Russian National Anthem, a performance that would not have disgraced the Portsmouth Sinfonia. Putin’s poker face is a minor masterpiece of restraint, only let down by the tiniest of facial tremors as the tune reaches its bathetic climax. It’s an excuse to display this fine postcard of another Egyptian Military Band on the march in all its finery, captioned as “Returning to Barracks after the departure of Lord Cromer”. The Egyptian people enjoyed the bracing company of Lord Cromer (Evelyn Baring) for 30 years from 1877 to 1907. As Consul-General and not known for a selfless devotion to the welfare of those less fortunate than himself, Over-Baring (as he was known to his subordinates) was the undisputed ruler of Egypt and earned a reputation for ruthless suppression of nationalist activity. He gave full expression to his contempt for the indigenous population whom he regarded as totally unworthy of governing their own affairs, revealing a singular indifference to the monuments and artefacts of the civilisation of the Pharaohs that must have been easily visible to him. It might have been a considerable relief to see the back of Lord Cromer though there was little cause for celebration as British interference in Egyptian affairs would continue in one form or another until the final withdrawal of troops in 1954. The marching bandsmen register an air of weary resignation as if they already know that they will be old men before their country is fully independent. Back in England, with typical generosity of spirit, Cromer would devote most of his twilight years to the unworthy cause of opposing female suffrage.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0yGJYryj-QY" width="560"></iframe></div>http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/02/postcard-of-day-no-72-egyptian-military.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-8898164263709435534Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:13:00 +00002015-02-16T14:51:10.723+00:00alfred janniotarchitecturefranceparisporte doréesculpturePalais de la Porte Dorée<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_3nmsL8VCQ/VOHqyJg4RPI/AAAAAAAAHhg/_Gvj7FZQQ8M/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_3nmsL8VCQ/VOHqyJg4RPI/AAAAAAAAHhg/_Gvj7FZQQ8M/s1600/a.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Palais de la Porte Dorée was built for the Paris Colonial Exhibition of 1931 and subsequently became a museum of African and Asian art. It now serves as a museum of the history of immigration in France (Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration). The building is imposing and uninviting, rectilinear and austere in form – there are 26 steps to climb to the entrance, a line of square-section segmented columns runs the width of the building supporting a deep overhang that shelters the terrace but in compensation for the unrelenting formal severity the frontage and flanks are entirely encased in a spectacular display of exuberant Art Deco-inspired bas-relief carvings telling the story of France’s imperialist adventure with unembarrassed relish.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tEwrSyUJL-E/VOHqyncQW0I/AAAAAAAAHhs/cNEkJF67lQU/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tEwrSyUJL-E/VOHqyncQW0I/AAAAAAAAHhs/cNEkJF67lQU/s1600/b.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Carved from the stone slabs by Alfred Auguste Janniot (1889–1969) in under 2 years, deep under-cuts and richly textured surfaces create dramatic shadows and graphic visual rhythms. An abundance of exotic plant and animal life hold the compositions together while indigenous labourers and subsistence farmers toil mightily in land and sea. It’s a fantastic conceit from a time when France’s colonial project was still a subject of great national pride – an unquestioning celebration of subjugation and exploitation is expressed as a sanitised pictorial fantasy from which all the injustice, inequality, trauma and suffering has been omitted. Considered on its own terms in the light of contemporary attitudes, it functions as an essay in wish fulfilment, a comforting fantasy of social harmony and partnership between oppressor and oppressed. We may feel uncomfortable with the exaggerated sexualisation of the African figures but in the context of the time and place it was unexceptional and part of the visual vocabulary of the Art Deco era. To add to the notable mammiform wonders, the great colonial port cities of France are represented by bare-breasted voluptuaries, godesses of prosperity and symbols of economic dynamism (City of Bordeaux above). In essence it’s a richly tactile but illustrated building. It quickly paid off for Janniot, who within a year was invited to New York by the Rockefeller family to decorate the Rockefeller Center with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Janniot#mediaviewer/File:Maison_francaise.jpg">bronze allegorical relief</a> symbolising Franco-American friendship.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R0KhonwFcOo/VOHqxmvkPxI/AAAAAAAAHhc/VOJLFHGbbgY/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R0KhonwFcOo/VOHqxmvkPxI/AAAAAAAAHhc/VOJLFHGbbgY/s1600/c.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIX0EcLmid8/VOHqzrgqSzI/AAAAAAAAHh0/HZmA9HrxD18/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIX0EcLmid8/VOHqzrgqSzI/AAAAAAAAHh0/HZmA9HrxD18/s1600/d.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6COigghETzU/VOHqz1e-r9I/AAAAAAAAHh4/eFuqsKIOVXo/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6COigghETzU/VOHqz1e-r9I/AAAAAAAAHh4/eFuqsKIOVXo/s1600/e.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svtSdCKHWho/VOHq0iAdRrI/AAAAAAAAHiE/MnYECiTt-Ok/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svtSdCKHWho/VOHq0iAdRrI/AAAAAAAAHiE/MnYECiTt-Ok/s1600/f.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0woB0mjqSE/VOHq1UA6ASI/AAAAAAAAHiI/SyccUF4odcE/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0woB0mjqSE/VOHq1UA6ASI/AAAAAAAAHiI/SyccUF4odcE/s1600/g.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwpvouEldvo/VOHq2IqmOEI/AAAAAAAAHiU/2nN1x-s8sU0/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwpvouEldvo/VOHq2IqmOEI/AAAAAAAAHiU/2nN1x-s8sU0/s1600/h.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vf329zp8lRg/VOHq2bK33II/AAAAAAAAHiY/zOnppnvlmVk/s1600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vf329zp8lRg/VOHq2bK33II/AAAAAAAAHiY/zOnppnvlmVk/s1600/i.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CPGuPyvkGBM/VOHq4FRvIiI/AAAAAAAAHis/DmuBjdlZ2eE/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CPGuPyvkGBM/VOHq4FRvIiI/AAAAAAAAHis/DmuBjdlZ2eE/s1600/k.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ac7yLU7hLw/VOHq4T7p23I/AAAAAAAAHiw/eFusglpGPl0/s1600/l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ac7yLU7hLw/VOHq4T7p23I/AAAAAAAAHiw/eFusglpGPl0/s1600/l.jpg" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/02/palais-de-la-porte-doree.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-6965275175276366349Sun, 08 Feb 2015 17:26:00 +00002015-02-08T17:26:12.540+00:00advertisingal parkeramerican airlinesaviationillustrationAl Parker – Up in the Air <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GLzjM8IL3tU/VNeatZYJIRI/AAAAAAAAHgY/WVbV1pwgsUw/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GLzjM8IL3tU/VNeatZYJIRI/AAAAAAAAHgY/WVbV1pwgsUw/s1600/a.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Parker is one of the Great American Illustrators of mid-century America in the days when the artists whose work illuminated the pages of Colliers, McCalls, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Ladies’ Home Journal and Saturday Evening Post often became minor celebrities. Some were recruited for product endorsements, some had regular columns of their own and some turned up on the features pages showing readers around their beautiful homes or their collection of vintage vehicles. From his suburban home in New Rochelle NY he produced an enormous volume of print-ready illustrations for editorial and commercial clients. Like most of his neighbours in New Rochelle (who between them accounted for half the published illustration in the US at that time) he was a consummate professional taking pride in offering a wide variety of styles and delivering work on time and to the client’s brief.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--BqBcvuu98E/VNeatmbAYmI/AAAAAAAAHgc/Pn8vQocKKX0/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--BqBcvuu98E/VNeatmbAYmI/AAAAAAAAHgc/Pn8vQocKKX0/s1600/b.jpg" height="414" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Above all else Parker was a master of asymmetric composition and spatial organisation equally at home with shallow compressed space and deep plunges from foreground to distant horizons. Every physical gesture was analysed and brilliantly portrayed and orchestrated into a complex ensemble of dynamic contrasts. Parker had a long association with American Airlines and this modest selection from his vast output is a good place to observe his compositional skills fully extended as he meets the challenge of composing in a letterbox format. The first two examples are from the 1950s when he was still offering tonally defined forms. The rest come from the early 1960s by which time a flatter style with sharply defined contours that Parker had long deployed in his repertoire had become much more fashionable among his younger colleagues in the illustration business. Cinematic composition at its finest and most convincing. This is a mere snapshot of Parker’s versatility so more posts will follow.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KkIKwBlQ_jY/VNeatyMEFLI/AAAAAAAAHgg/mLlWOe0uB8A/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KkIKwBlQ_jY/VNeatyMEFLI/AAAAAAAAHgg/mLlWOe0uB8A/s1600/c.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xgwwnslXt_0/VNeaweDsubI/AAAAAAAAHg8/I0iIfaAvC4U/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xgwwnslXt_0/VNeaweDsubI/AAAAAAAAHg8/I0iIfaAvC4U/s1600/d.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eZbGuUMogmE/VNeavEbhIwI/AAAAAAAAHgw/F2KhouQDM6Q/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eZbGuUMogmE/VNeavEbhIwI/AAAAAAAAHgw/F2KhouQDM6Q/s1600/e.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcyLgBWxDJQ/VNeavlt3ViI/AAAAAAAAHg0/ufHN8z9Qdm4/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcyLgBWxDJQ/VNeavlt3ViI/AAAAAAAAHg0/ufHN8z9Qdm4/s1600/f.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_siKfx8MF9I/VNeaw1IBUfI/AAAAAAAAHhE/9q2jOg4iIUc/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_siKfx8MF9I/VNeaw1IBUfI/AAAAAAAAHhE/9q2jOg4iIUc/s1600/g.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leif Peng has a stunning display of Al Parker on his <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/leifpeng/sets/1502340/">Flickr</a> pages.</span></i>http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/02/al-parker-up-in-air.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-7497625347753321312Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:11:00 +00002015-01-30T10:11:22.307+00:00advertisingchocolateconfectioneryNeuralgia and Nostalgia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3j_9NRTGsRA/VMtXehihIKI/AAAAAAAAHeY/ZEVGo0fwbss/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3j_9NRTGsRA/VMtXehihIKI/AAAAAAAAHeY/ZEVGo0fwbss/s1600/a.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For a warm dose of comforting nostalgia there are few better triggers than childhood recollections of confectionery treats. Online protestations of undying affection for long forgotten sweets and chocolate are easily found. The attendant miseries and insecurities of childhood are erased by the power of pleasures recalled – unwrapping and consuming sugary, candied and chocolate-coated concoctions. For the immediate post-war generation these memories carry extra weight due to the imposition of sweet rationing which lasted until February 1953. The resulting expansion in demand is reflected in these full colour, full page magazine ads as manufacturers fought for market share in a new climate of plenty. An armada of temptation was mobilised to get Britain munching and chomping its way to the top of the international league tables of consumption. The dark clouds of rampant tooth decay and childhood obesity lay just over the horizon. A Conservative opposition fought, and almost won the 1950 general election on the issue of ending rationing while the Labour incumbents campaigned for indefinite retention. This began the process of stigmatising egalitarianism as a joyless and pointless aspiration, a denial of consumer choice and a symbol of the horrors of a planned economy, echoes of which persist to the present day. It was an early example of Labour politicians committing to unpopular policies – another tradition that survives.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCpFNav9pJw/VMtXe68uZEI/AAAAAAAAHeg/3DVZTn-ksvk/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCpFNav9pJw/VMtXe68uZEI/AAAAAAAAHeg/3DVZTn-ksvk/s1600/b.jpg" height="640" width="490" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z-I6wvlYEhQ/VMtXfP3nZmI/AAAAAAAAHec/m9s8B7ZxsNA/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z-I6wvlYEhQ/VMtXfP3nZmI/AAAAAAAAHec/m9s8B7ZxsNA/s1600/c.jpg" height="640" width="472" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qGpia4u1jA/VMtXf9Xr7JI/AAAAAAAAHes/y-JfQGTVM4Y/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qGpia4u1jA/VMtXf9Xr7JI/AAAAAAAAHes/y-JfQGTVM4Y/s1600/d.jpg" height="640" width="468" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fdpB7fonjsg/VMtXge8k1DI/AAAAAAAAHe0/8vKYIZX_MFI/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fdpB7fonjsg/VMtXge8k1DI/AAAAAAAAHe0/8vKYIZX_MFI/s1600/e.jpg" height="640" width="484" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vy7tM6TKudU/VMtXhNptr9I/AAAAAAAAHfA/5KjGx3qQ6dU/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vy7tM6TKudU/VMtXhNptr9I/AAAAAAAAHfA/5KjGx3qQ6dU/s1600/f.jpg" height="640" width="490" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ogu7q_dc0qU/VMtXhUIrUWI/AAAAAAAAHfE/yW-tVxIN6wE/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ogu7q_dc0qU/VMtXhUIrUWI/AAAAAAAAHfE/yW-tVxIN6wE/s1600/g.jpg" height="640" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PFcuKEmqp14/VMtXh6gtY8I/AAAAAAAAHfI/XjRVNiXREKI/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PFcuKEmqp14/VMtXh6gtY8I/AAAAAAAAHfI/XjRVNiXREKI/s1600/h.jpg" height="640" width="482" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o1e2OFEBcrY/VMtXicYGxfI/AAAAAAAAHfY/327P212DMVg/s1600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o1e2OFEBcrY/VMtXicYGxfI/AAAAAAAAHfY/327P212DMVg/s1600/i.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cnZd8UHAw8U/VMtXi_FNW2I/AAAAAAAAHfc/CNS0LDcfJ44/s1600/j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cnZd8UHAw8U/VMtXi_FNW2I/AAAAAAAAHfc/CNS0LDcfJ44/s1600/j.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NSwgJu6UBU8/VMtXjSmoExI/AAAAAAAAHfo/U0Ghh0csGIU/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NSwgJu6UBU8/VMtXjSmoExI/AAAAAAAAHfo/U0Ghh0csGIU/s1600/k.jpg" height="640" width="488" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PqT9K9wTd7k/VMtXj9OogYI/AAAAAAAAHfs/raqmgqe44IU/s1600/l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PqT9K9wTd7k/VMtXj9OogYI/AAAAAAAAHfs/raqmgqe44IU/s1600/l.jpg" height="640" width="468" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CgbShU1pyzw/VMtXkEOrkvI/AAAAAAAAHf0/4cTh6bR3dEw/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CgbShU1pyzw/VMtXkEOrkvI/AAAAAAAAHf0/4cTh6bR3dEw/s1600/m.jpg" height="640" width="492" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M0e7AEBTWzQ/VMtXk7uactI/AAAAAAAAHgE/avoMTP9k39o/s1600/n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M0e7AEBTWzQ/VMtXk7uactI/AAAAAAAAHgE/avoMTP9k39o/s1600/n.jpg" height="640" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eE04Nya3Z78/VMtXleMh8WI/AAAAAAAAHgA/Jrgj0d2agK0/s1600/o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eE04Nya3Z78/VMtXleMh8WI/AAAAAAAAHgA/Jrgj0d2agK0/s1600/o.jpg" height="640" width="466" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/01/neuralgia-and-nostalgia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-7262617380629568592Wed, 28 Jan 2015 14:03:00 +00002015-01-28T14:03:34.297+00:00architecturefenoglioindustrial architectureindustrytorinoturinvillaggio leumannVillaggio Leumann, Turin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-51uRy585W0I/VMjqp1DDCuI/AAAAAAAAHdk/BoucI4PawL8/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-51uRy585W0I/VMjqp1DDCuI/AAAAAAAAHdk/BoucI4PawL8/s1600/a.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Corso Francia is the principle westbound highway out of the city of Turin. It’s the main route from Piedmont to France and has been witness to many movements of troops of both nationalities in both directions as the two nations engaged in regular hostilities. The first settlement outside the city is the comune of Collegno and in 1875 Swiss textile manufacturer, Napoleone Leumann chose to relocate his business from Switzerland to Collegno for easier access to the Italian market for his products. Leumann was a paternalistic employer and took the opportunity to build housing and social facilities alongside his factories. Over the following three decades the site was developed to include housing for up to a thousand people, a church, public baths, a gym and a school. The designer was the engineer/architect Pietro Fenoglio who employed a sober, eclectic style very different from the flamboyant Liberty-styled house he designed for himself in Turin. (The <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/8592508@N04/15527617075/">Casa Fenoglio-Lafleur</a> is about 5 miles to the east on the same road, Corso Francia.)&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocVxPG285y8/VMjqpavxx_I/AAAAAAAAHdc/2UguFIhFkc8/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocVxPG285y8/VMjqpavxx_I/AAAAAAAAHdc/2UguFIhFkc8/s1600/b.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fenoglio’s architectural contribution is difficult to quantify but the stylistic touches that pay homage to Leumann’s Swiss origins may well be his work. The pair of gatehouses are the most obvious examples with their hand carved wooden detailing and gingerbread air. Opposite the entrance is a modest timber-built rail/tramway station in a similar vernacular. The homes and factories are well proportioned and unassuming in style. The provision of gardens indicates the influence of British models designed to promote self-sufficiency and leisure time dedicated to labour and self-improvement. The textile business finally closed in 2007, after lingering on in a much reduced role since 1972 but the Villaggio Leumann has since been refurbished as a heritage site with some of the buildings converted into retail premises for the fashion industry. On a visit in October 2014 the housing stock seemed to be in very good order as were the retail units, but the major blocks, although recently repainted, still await a use. It was a Monday morning and there may well be busier times but there was very little sign of activity, economic or domestic. Other than the man who yelled from an upstairs window to tell me that photography was forbidden without a permit – an expression of resentment about being on public display.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gAzsEkYDP20/VMjqoussceI/AAAAAAAAHdY/Q0tGxYWcMG4/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gAzsEkYDP20/VMjqoussceI/AAAAAAAAHdY/Q0tGxYWcMG4/s1600/c.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aA-2ykOqbWg/VMjqqiXysvI/AAAAAAAAHdw/4DBrlkMb-Wc/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aA-2ykOqbWg/VMjqqiXysvI/AAAAAAAAHdw/4DBrlkMb-Wc/s1600/d.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-omFleWFR5As/VMjqrIQUOjI/AAAAAAAAHd0/dv8bf2OtREM/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-omFleWFR5As/VMjqrIQUOjI/AAAAAAAAHd0/dv8bf2OtREM/s1600/e.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDtkZ_zFIyA/VMjqr36bd6I/AAAAAAAAHd8/y_20DLvXoA4/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EDtkZ_zFIyA/VMjqr36bd6I/AAAAAAAAHd8/y_20DLvXoA4/s1600/f.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WMalqXBnGVE/VMjqsTvAuBI/AAAAAAAAHeI/K7PgrMvnrRE/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WMalqXBnGVE/VMjqsTvAuBI/AAAAAAAAHeI/K7PgrMvnrRE/s1600/g.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/01/villaggio-leumann-turin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-32201135780550715Tue, 13 Jan 2015 14:13:00 +00002015-01-13T14:13:09.904+00:00americanafloridalinen postcardsmarinelandpostcardsMarineland Oceanarium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yGJV1IA5HAQ/VLUmfUI07BI/AAAAAAAAHco/pb4TnfDDJNQ/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yGJV1IA5HAQ/VLUmfUI07BI/AAAAAAAAHco/pb4TnfDDJNQ/s1600/a.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Florida – Perpetual State of Wonders - Alligator Farms, Rattlesnake Ranches, Mystery Houses, Ringling Brothers Circus, the Green Benches, Fountain of Youth and the Singing Tower. Marineland opened in 1938 as the world’s first Oceanarium – a visitor attraction featuring sea dwelling mammals. Giant Turtles, Sharks, Whales and Porpoises drew in the tourists and the project borrowed a little literary respectability, having among its founders, Ilya Tolstoy (grandson of the great Leo and pioneer of underwater photography). Linen postcards offer the perfect medium for recording these sub-aquatic theatricals in which a changing cast of sea creatures swim around in the company of clumsy Marineland employees encased in diving suits constructed in an age of heavy engineering. I like these cards for their slow motion compositions and persistent air of absurdity – one or two of them could easily be taken for pieces of Performance Art. Follow this <a href="http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/fl/all">link</a> to see what Florida offers today’s visitor – it’s an impressive range of implausible curiosities from which it’s difficult to select the most compelling but I wouldn’t want to miss the Atheist Monument, the Lowest State High Point in the US and the Garbage Truck Museum.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iQhUKUe-yIs/VLUmfheOQ3I/AAAAAAAAHcs/2CCDJpBBs_Y/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iQhUKUe-yIs/VLUmfheOQ3I/AAAAAAAAHcs/2CCDJpBBs_Y/s1600/b.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cp8eR0BWq2E/VLUmgPE8MCI/AAAAAAAAHc0/d_bKkN004WE/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cp8eR0BWq2E/VLUmgPE8MCI/AAAAAAAAHc0/d_bKkN004WE/s1600/c.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eby4JnYd90U/VLUmglfGtUI/AAAAAAAAHc8/8sshSIFyq30/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eby4JnYd90U/VLUmglfGtUI/AAAAAAAAHc8/8sshSIFyq30/s1600/d.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d8J76V4htK4/VLUmg4FEXqI/AAAAAAAAHdA/UHZxWKXRNko/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d8J76V4htK4/VLUmg4FEXqI/AAAAAAAAHdA/UHZxWKXRNko/s1600/e.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/01/marineland-oceanarium.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-2598788053536693459Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:15:00 +00002015-01-03T16:15:25.840+00:00great western railwaylocomotivespostcardsrailwaysswindontrainsDinner Hour Swindon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XiId5E4Gx0s/VKgR5Q7loHI/AAAAAAAAHbo/abSSbQ0Y5h0/s1600/*a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XiId5E4Gx0s/VKgR5Q7loHI/AAAAAAAAHbo/abSSbQ0Y5h0/s1600/*a.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not a bare head in sight as the artisans stream out of the railway works in Swindon, filing past the company-built housing (the Railway Village) after a busy morning building copper-capped steam locomotives for the Great Western Railway (GWR). Just a fraction of the 12,000 employees. They may have no NHS or JSA or Tax Credits or Sky Sports but at least they have a dinner hour – which is often more than today’s flexible and fragmented workforce can afford. The working day that was regulated by sirens and whistles is now more subtly regulated by zero hours contracts and ever expanding workloads coupled with the constant threat of unemployment – recent surveys (of doubtful provenance) on behalf of the food industry, show workers take an average of 29 to 33 minutes for lunch. Most depressing of all, one in seven employees hope to win favour with their managers by taking shorter breaks. Mass pilgrimages like this, to and from the workplace are part of labour history. Dispersal of workplaces diminishes opportunities for employees to organise and campaign for better pay and conditions. In the absence of collective action individual resentments accumulate and fester into a generalised reservoir of discontent from which the likes of UKIP draw their support.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vSynaAnSojc/VKgR5K9xJRI/AAAAAAAAHbk/vcsaqaZSiZs/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vSynaAnSojc/VKgR5K9xJRI/AAAAAAAAHbk/vcsaqaZSiZs/s1600/a.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At the age of 13 I once spent a Saturday afternoon on a tour of Swindon Works in the company of a like-minded group of train fanatics and social misfits whose ability to scrape through the Eleven Plus had been rewarded with a seven year sentence in the great Metroland Madrassa aka Watford Boys Grammar School. Our expedition leader was a gaunt and ascetic young man by the name of Rex who at 14 already resembled the Rural Dean and Antiquarian I fully expected him to become in adult life. It was a memorable experience – the last ever British-built main line steam locomotives were under construction on the factory floor. In one bay stood a completed example in all its resplendence, next to it was an almost complete example – in all about 12 locomotives presented a reductive display of disassembly, ending with a pair of sub-frames on which a number was chalked. The ethics of collecting numbers were called into question – could you really claim to have seen a locomotive when it was no more than a pair of metal castings resting on the floor?&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHiq_vAWXD0/VKgR6Tn0CYI/AAAAAAAAHb0/kUdtErwF-Tc/s1600/w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHiq_vAWXD0/VKgR6Tn0CYI/AAAAAAAAHb0/kUdtErwF-Tc/s1600/w.jpg" height="416" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Another assembly line was producing a batch of diesel-hydraulic locomotives – the first generation of diesel power, themselves doomed to a life of little more than a decade. Elsewhere steam locomotives of all vintages and size were undergoing repairs, surrounded by gleaming stacks of replacement parts, sets of newly turned and freshly painted driving wheels and trolley-loads of bearings, levers, rods, cranks and valves. Outside the works were the weathered and corroded remains of locomotives at the end of their working lives – in their dramatic decrepitude they were every bit as fascinating as the dazzling magnificence of the newly outshopped locomotives with their polished brass and sumptuous paintwork. The most exotic sight that day was an elderly narrow-gauge locomotive (No. 9 Prince of Wales) from the Vale of Rheidol railway that had travelled from Aberystwyth to Swindon on a flat-bed truck for repairs.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mci4jwfhy3E/VKgR8PVuEqI/AAAAAAAAHb8/I5vWEwB-N7c/s1600/x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mci4jwfhy3E/VKgR8PVuEqI/AAAAAAAAHb8/I5vWEwB-N7c/s1600/x.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">More than any of its competitors, the GWR worked hard to associate itself with the English landed gentry – the locomotives carried the names of Kings, Counties, Castles, Earls, Granges, Manors and Halls (some GWR directors were residents of homes that were honoured in this way), a constant reminder to travellers of the timeless hegemony of their superiors by birth. Although the green fields of Wessex were rudely bisected by Brunel as he pushed westwards, the knights and lords of the shires were handsomely compensated with easy access to the metropolis. Catch a cab at Paddington to a board meeting in the City, followed by a light slumber on the parliamentary benches. Lunch at a gentleman’s club might precede an adulterous assignation in Mayfair or Knightsbridge with the lubricious delights of an evening visit to a house of ill repute to look forward to.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-Jb2rJ_lw4/VKgR-RW615I/AAAAAAAAHcE/2Gw78VjAei0/s1600/y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-Jb2rJ_lw4/VKgR-RW615I/AAAAAAAAHcE/2Gw78VjAei0/s1600/y.jpg" height="414" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In design terms the policy was to wrap advanced technology inside traditional forms – high-performance locomotives were styled to look like enormous pieces of mobile vintage furniture, composites of tallboys, sideboards and mantel pieces topped off with copper and brass trim and cast iron number plates, numerals burnished with gold leaf. Railway buildings took their features from the stables, workshops, lodges and estate buildings to be seen in the grounds of West Country stately homes. Architects borrowed freely from historical styles including Tudor, French Gothic and Georgian to build stations with an air of permanence as if the trains had been passing through for centuries rather than decades. Innovation and change made respectable by drawing attention away from its novelty and rooting it in the past. In the Victorian imagination, engineering excellence was just another manifestation of the eternally unrolling pageant of English pre-eminence.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQEQrL7z3nc/VKgUC-CK2lI/AAAAAAAAHcY/oBhvoVJBJjA/s1600/zx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQEQrL7z3nc/VKgUC-CK2lI/AAAAAAAAHcY/oBhvoVJBJjA/s1600/zx.jpg" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2015/01/dinner-hour-swindon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-1415815506729516739Tue, 16 Dec 2014 15:46:00 +00002014-12-16T15:46:26.734+00:00al mosheramericanafloridamystery housepostcardsPostcard of the Day No. 71 – Al Mosher’s Mystery House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3XgK5m6Nkg/VJBSjCc61_I/AAAAAAAAHak/Cx23KYr08-s/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3XgK5m6Nkg/VJBSjCc61_I/AAAAAAAAHak/Cx23KYr08-s/s1600/a.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Eye-witnesses report that it wasn’t unknown for visitors to this unusual Florida attraction to be overcome with disequilibrium-induced nausea and exit the house vomiting copiously, although this wasn’t mentioned in the publicity. As it says on the reverse – cross the Bridge of Lions, just opposite the St. Augustine Alligator Farm on Route A1A – and you’re there. It takes a leap of the imagination to come up with an idea like this and a justly proud Al has the air of a born teacher as he explains his creation to Mr and Mrs Average and Junior. There should be one of these in every town if only for the pleasure of submitting a Planning Application and hearing what Building Regs. have to say about it. With Mr Pickles still in charge of national planning policy and prioritising economic potential, there really should be no obstacles.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WlKyCOJdFoI/VJBSi8cC5kI/AAAAAAAAHag/S4b-ntZ68Rg/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WlKyCOJdFoI/VJBSi8cC5kI/AAAAAAAAHag/S4b-ntZ68Rg/s1600/b.jpg" height="545" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/12/postcard-of-day-no-71-al-moshers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-2456555499204848637Thu, 11 Dec 2014 14:15:00 +00002014-12-16T15:11:09.468+00:00aerial viewsItalyphotographytorinoturinAerial Visions – the Flight of the Mind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HWbJU-TJDP4/VJBJ0TsHVVI/AAAAAAAAHYc/8E3ZRAw74Bo/s1600/*a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HWbJU-TJDP4/VJBJ0TsHVVI/AAAAAAAAHYc/8E3ZRAw74Bo/s1600/*a.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There’s a lot of speculation on the influence of photography from an elevated viewpoint on the way we model the world in our imagination. The proposition is that before the development of the skyscraper and powered flight it was very difficult to conceive of how the world would appear from above and that artists exploited this shift in viewpoint into new and dynamic forms. Tall structures, often in the form of fortifications or bell towers certainly existed in the past but artists made little of the opportunities they offered for taking a radically fresh viewpoint on familiar things. Kirk Varnedoe wrote in <i>A Fine Disregard</i>, 1990, about the fundamental shift in viewpoint in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that inspired artists and photographers from Degas and Caillebotte to Malevich and Rodchenko to reimagine conventional pictorial space and explore a new vocabulary of form. The subtitle, Flight of the Mind was his phrase to describe what happened when Rodchenko’s photographs “broke the axis of relation between the horizon and the ground”.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p0MZSJhlm8c/VJBKUJwYNSI/AAAAAAAAHYk/ADd87Sf5UFY/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p0MZSJhlm8c/VJBKUJwYNSI/AAAAAAAAHYk/ADd87Sf5UFY/s1600/a.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I suspect I’m far from alone in deriving great pleasure from examining the world below from a position of great height. It’s not the distant horizon that commands my attention but what is more or less directly below my feet. When elevation supplies a panoramic view it’s always interesting but the spatial recession of patchwork fields, human settlements, rivers, hills and valleys, whether pictorially harmonious and uplifting or darkly sinister and unsettling, is a familiar sensation. The natural topography of the planet delivers an abundance of vantage points which it could be argued we are evolutionally programmed to note for their values as defensive or offensive positions. What is least familiar to us is the space we inhabit as seen from directly above our heads – when what we normally see only in elevation is suddenly visible in plan. New and unanticipated formal relationships are revealed in which abstract qualities predominate. Physical elevation offers the reverse of the vision of the infinite and sublime that a painted ceiling by an artist like Tiepolo is intended to evoke. Instead of looking upwards and sensing our insignificance, we look downwards and indulge the fantasy of possessing mastery over our personal Lilliputian kingdom below.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-blmQ7sUthOg/VJBKikoj3tI/AAAAAAAAHYs/dx8XemCY4w0/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-blmQ7sUthOg/VJBKikoj3tI/AAAAAAAAHYs/dx8XemCY4w0/s1600/b.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">These photos of Turin were taken from the observation deck of the Mole Antonelliana, an odd and over-ambitious building, planned as a Synagogue on an epic scale, that had to be rescued and repurposed when the money ran out and construction was abandoned. In form it’s a bizarre vertical stack with a pagoda-like pinnacle on top of a double-height temple on top of a duomo on top of a gallery on top of another classical temple. After 15 years of painfully slow construction the city authorities took over the completion of the building, finally achieved in 1889, and it’s currently put to use as a National Museum of Cinema. A glass-walled elevator transports the public in a vertiginous parody of the Ascension through the dead centre of the duomo and onwards to the deck above. These photographs are a record of what became visible when the city of Turin was rotated through ninety degrees.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ybVWoTsq-9E/VJBLB9xJMiI/AAAAAAAAHZE/gKDffJehpAQ/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ybVWoTsq-9E/VJBLB9xJMiI/AAAAAAAAHZE/gKDffJehpAQ/s1600/c.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QwU5UtYCYc0/VJBLBFtcLAI/AAAAAAAAHY4/hQBfkyoqVEw/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QwU5UtYCYc0/VJBLBFtcLAI/AAAAAAAAHY4/hQBfkyoqVEw/s1600/d.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ns54uMciaCI/VJBLAhwcTSI/AAAAAAAAHY0/jsumUWTsUnk/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ns54uMciaCI/VJBLAhwcTSI/AAAAAAAAHY0/jsumUWTsUnk/s1600/e.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qY-FXIkKRLg/VJBLClZKxuI/AAAAAAAAHZM/s1IIdb1niA0/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qY-FXIkKRLg/VJBLClZKxuI/AAAAAAAAHZM/s1IIdb1niA0/s1600/f.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_eY7QLRezkU/VJBLDTFmeiI/AAAAAAAAHZQ/byw5fWU3L9g/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_eY7QLRezkU/VJBLDTFmeiI/AAAAAAAAHZQ/byw5fWU3L9g/s1600/g.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s2BED3C5Lac/VJBLEf-bZ9I/AAAAAAAAHZc/PDf8SC-NiFs/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s2BED3C5Lac/VJBLEf-bZ9I/AAAAAAAAHZc/PDf8SC-NiFs/s1600/h.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-64hel60KoY8/VJBLFKPiZkI/AAAAAAAAHZg/Cu05xySGHbo/s1600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-64hel60KoY8/VJBLFKPiZkI/AAAAAAAAHZg/Cu05xySGHbo/s1600/i.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/12/aerial-visions-flight-of-mind_11.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-5943598471275293320Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:13:00 +00002014-12-05T18:08:40.343+00:00couplespostcardsromancesentimentPostcard of the Day No. 70 – When Two Heads Collide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ME6dPnbrUxw/VIHW8_H_BmI/AAAAAAAAHVM/xOidVwFxmWM/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ME6dPnbrUxw/VIHW8_H_BmI/AAAAAAAAHVM/xOidVwFxmWM/s1600/a.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Even I hesitated for a moment before spending the princely sum of 10p on this postcard. Despite being good value for money, I sensed that this was an image that once seen could never be erased. Some staggeringly wretched postcards have turned up in a lifetime of collecting but in terms of content, conception and sentiment, this is desperately close to an all time low. A grim fascination compelled me to buy it – I tried to convince myself that it was a satire on the manners of the time but my heart wasn’t really in it – it must be taken as it is.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xML7_Ec23-k/VIHW9srx2eI/AAAAAAAAHVY/90JCFWaBGnA/s1600/av.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xML7_Ec23-k/VIHW9srx2eI/AAAAAAAAHVY/90JCFWaBGnA/s1600/av.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Even her hat is wrong – distorting the shape of her head and adding prominence to her pointy chin. But far worse are the frozen parted lips and exposed vampire-like top set of dentures. Together with the eyes, that subtly aim in two directions, they don’t suggest an imminent surrender to erotic passion. If anything our Adonis is even more disturbing – his neck has been removed and his eyes appear to be watching the clock. His lips are pressed ineffectually against his beloved’s chin as he wonders just how long this torment will last. It’s an enactment of osculatory hydraulics from which the warm glow of Romance is excluded. No soft-focus lens to seduce the eye – the full horror is revealed in the harshest of light.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">&nbsp;An Edwardian suitor could choose from thousands of cards of courting couples – this would have to be the last one in the shop to be selected to guide Cupid’s arrow in the direction of the object of his affections. Sending such postcards was a way of communicating amorous intent in an age when the prevailing code of conduct made it almost impossible to express in any other way. There’s a reproachful tone in the message at the top – a suggestion that the recipient may have been bestowing favours outside the relationship. Leading us even further into dark waters is the space in which the sender can nominate a location for this dishonourable behaviour. It may be much safer to send something like the example below. Birthday greetings expressed in verse (complete with misprint), a gift of flowers, curtains parted in promise, an upturned moustache, a roguish eye and an air of consummate self-satisfaction.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ouwDWETS44Q/VIHW9b0UYTI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/or3NebL0Nk8/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ouwDWETS44Q/VIHW9b0UYTI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/or3NebL0Nk8/s1600/b.jpg" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/12/postcard-of-day-no-70-when-two-heads.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-5483938348188194424Wed, 03 Dec 2014 15:01:00 +00002015-01-14T18:24:14.989+00:00advertisingamericanacarschevroletdetroitChevrolet 1957 – sweet, smooth and sassy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEUL9OVUllQ/VH8kKfysF5I/AAAAAAAAHUE/GDIBuC2e-Bk/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEUL9OVUllQ/VH8kKfysF5I/AAAAAAAAHUE/GDIBuC2e-Bk/s1600/a.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1957 was a big year for Chevrolet. As America prospered, motor styling became increasingly rapturous – a ballistic missile/jukebox aesthetic was evolving fast and would soon achieve its apotheosis. The ’57 Chevy is still one of the most highly regarded classic cars and the most cherished model is the Bel Air (below). Massive advertising campaigns were essential to drive demand for the annual face-lifts and Chevrolet business was handled by the Detroit based agency, Campbell-Ewald. In general I feel no great affection for motor cars but the feverish insanity of 1950’s Detroit overcomes my resistance. I’m old enough to recall what boring things English cars were in this period – styled like Victorian sideboards and marketed by association with upper-class snobbery – shown against an endless backdrop of fox-hunting, stately homes, golf courses, debutantes’ balls, Dickensian coaching inns and cocktail parties with uniformed flunkeys in attendance.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PW6QD_rGyfw/VH8kLtVnCwI/AAAAAAAAHUQ/9HGLq8XSjE8/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PW6QD_rGyfw/VH8kLtVnCwI/AAAAAAAAHUQ/9HGLq8XSjE8/s1600/b.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Campbell-Ewald approach is much more to my liking – a cheerfully assertive message that you’ll miss out on something wonderful, exciting and life-enhancing if you don’t trade up to the very latest model with the unspoken message that nothing spells failure more clearly than being seen in last year’s model. Illustrators still got more work than photographers and dramatically exaggerated the dimensions and detailing on the vehicles into ecstatic visions designed to leap off the page and arouse the motorist’s deepest desires for status, speed and comfort. The advertising tag-line of the year was the alliterative “sweet, smooth and sassy” – sweet to taste, smooth to the touch plus a gentle nudge towards the erogenous zones. How else to describe the Triple-Turbine Turboglide? A second tag-line from 1957 was “velvet smooth and full of spunk” leaving even less to the imagination. I shudder to think what a British audience would have made of language like this. This selection features the work of the following illustrators, Alex Ross(2), Stan Galli, Bruce Bomberger(2), David Lindsay, Charles Allen and Paul Nonnast.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WUOMUAmYSm8/VH8kLThOA1I/AAAAAAAAHUM/oHpFzfeSgT0/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WUOMUAmYSm8/VH8kLThOA1I/AAAAAAAAHUM/oHpFzfeSgT0/s1600/c.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rgSWGsJRpUQ/VH8kMZbzxfI/AAAAAAAAHUY/XOdzldGG93o/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rgSWGsJRpUQ/VH8kMZbzxfI/AAAAAAAAHUY/XOdzldGG93o/s1600/d.jpg" height="640" width="498" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZuepqaeiAg/VH8kN269AQI/AAAAAAAAHUk/zIrLxcL985M/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZuepqaeiAg/VH8kN269AQI/AAAAAAAAHUk/zIrLxcL985M/s1600/e.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h_p7qyGRwjo/VH8kOOjxFgI/AAAAAAAAHUo/1_tUANZh5e0/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h_p7qyGRwjo/VH8kOOjxFgI/AAAAAAAAHUo/1_tUANZh5e0/s1600/f.jpg" height="640" width="498" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MxnTKfXxLEo/VH8kPHKvUsI/AAAAAAAAHU0/TtNe301Qf7w/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MxnTKfXxLEo/VH8kPHKvUsI/AAAAAAAAHU0/TtNe301Qf7w/s1600/g.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0r0TjOlLZso/VH8kP00kcvI/AAAAAAAAHU4/kmnRuExK25w/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0r0TjOlLZso/VH8kP00kcvI/AAAAAAAAHU4/kmnRuExK25w/s1600/h.jpg" height="640" width="482" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/12/chevrolet-1957-sweet-smooth-and-sassy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-6053186410324702373Sat, 29 Nov 2014 16:27:00 +00002014-11-29T16:27:03.972+00:00Italypostcardsrack railwayrailwayssassi-supergatorinotransportturinSassi-Superga Tramway – to 1884 and back for lunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qo9hGmdgZ1o/VHnyd1OcJ0I/AAAAAAAAHSo/qtXiQabRiLk/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qo9hGmdgZ1o/VHnyd1OcJ0I/AAAAAAAAHSo/qtXiQabRiLk/s1600/a.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To the east of the city of Turin there’s a range of hills on top of which sits the Baroque Basilica Superga. The Basilica is connected to the Turin suburb of Sassi some 2,200 feet below by a rack-railway that offers substantially the same travelling experience as when it first opened in 1884. Varnished wooden seating and panelling plus leather hand-grips and polished fittings grace the passenger cars – the pleasures are entirely anachronistic. Essentially a visitor attraction rather than a working railway, it is operated by the city of Turin transport authority (GTT) as an integral part of the urban network. It’s a clattery, bumpy ride through dense woodland with vertiginous interludes when the view opens up to take in the sprawling city far below with distant prospects of the Alps.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9BentfGlD3g/VHnydVtRP_I/AAAAAAAAHSc/Ge0I7RtaXKc/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9BentfGlD3g/VHnydVtRP_I/AAAAAAAAHSc/Ge0I7RtaXKc/s1600/b.jpg" height="416" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Basilica (1717-31), like so many such buildings was a pious gesture of thanks for divine guidance in a military victory. In 1706 the defeat of the French at the Siege of Turin inspired the Duke of Savoy to commission the Basilica as both a shrine to the Virgin Mary and a highly visible symbol of temporal power. The surrounding landmass is now a Nature Reserve with extensive forest trails for walkers, who in turn supply custom for the tramway. At the top there’s a memorial to the footballers of AC Torino who all lost their lives when their plane returning from a friendly match in Lisbon crashed into the back of the Basilica in May 1949.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8_ucxrERwK8/VHnydt1KHEI/AAAAAAAAHSg/PhYiVSaXc5c/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8_ucxrERwK8/VHnydt1KHEI/AAAAAAAAHSg/PhYiVSaXc5c/s1600/c.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PdbjK_T2Vt8/VHnyemPVhcI/AAAAAAAAHSw/bfo4yaHGSTY/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PdbjK_T2Vt8/VHnyemPVhcI/AAAAAAAAHSw/bfo4yaHGSTY/s1600/d.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6BDJyE0jgr0/VHnyfO58kkI/AAAAAAAAHS8/XxJ-a8GyX7c/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6BDJyE0jgr0/VHnyfO58kkI/AAAAAAAAHS8/XxJ-a8GyX7c/s1600/e.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8265CTuVA_Q/VHnyfw2fPYI/AAAAAAAAHTA/fCdM2rybqsg/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8265CTuVA_Q/VHnyfw2fPYI/AAAAAAAAHTA/fCdM2rybqsg/s1600/f.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRE2BBb59-Q/VHnyggZgnJI/AAAAAAAAHTM/Nk_xRr06LfY/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRE2BBb59-Q/VHnyggZgnJI/AAAAAAAAHTM/Nk_xRr06LfY/s1600/g.jpg" height="418" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0UXkXEs0vp4/VHnyhVHNJfI/AAAAAAAAHTQ/LVqQfJYDVG8/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0UXkXEs0vp4/VHnyhVHNJfI/AAAAAAAAHTQ/LVqQfJYDVG8/s1600/h.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wNxmF4BdgrI/VHnyh10hBNI/AAAAAAAAHTc/wPAvd3lZMIM/s1600/j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wNxmF4BdgrI/VHnyh10hBNI/AAAAAAAAHTc/wPAvd3lZMIM/s1600/j.jpg" height="418" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UfuNXU7Ehsc/VHnyjKoGZXI/AAAAAAAAHTk/humywyvLXfY/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UfuNXU7Ehsc/VHnyjKoGZXI/AAAAAAAAHTk/humywyvLXfY/s1600/k.jpg" height="432" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WgJd4umhTX4/VHnykBIbWfI/AAAAAAAAHTs/guDditY6cEU/s1600/l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WgJd4umhTX4/VHnykBIbWfI/AAAAAAAAHTs/guDditY6cEU/s1600/l.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J9rMcJEHumI/VHnykWW2juI/AAAAAAAAHTw/SRdIq6-T488/s1600/z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J9rMcJEHumI/VHnykWW2juI/AAAAAAAAHTw/SRdIq6-T488/s1600/z.jpg" height="410" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/11/sassi-superga-tramway-to-1884-and-back.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-9019302105300708721Thu, 27 Nov 2014 12:50:00 +00002014-11-27T12:50:12.874+00:00Egyptpostcardsriver nilePostcard of the Day No. 69, Sakah au bord du Nil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fuAXISbE9us/VHccz6Yyg4I/AAAAAAAAHRs/tV2UkFcSTGs/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fuAXISbE9us/VHccz6Yyg4I/AAAAAAAAHRs/tV2UkFcSTGs/s1600/a.jpg" height="410" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It has been claimed that vintage photographs and postcards open a window into the past. I’m not convinced – at best they offer something like the view obtained through the wrong end of a telescope – a mute and minuscule edited fragment divorced from any wider context. Today’s card depicts a procession of water carriers, children and adults, wading into the River Nile – a routine scene of daily labour. The original photographic image has a snapshot quality to it suggested by the tilted horizon and has been overpainted to introduce some colour. Despite that the features remain well defined and differentiated. The figure supported by a stick appears to be an amputee as does another at the second right but it may be no more than clumsy brushwork on the part of the retouch artist. Imagination will have to suffice for the sounds and smells. We can infer some of the wider landscape from which the photographer made a selection from the other postcards below which explore the same subject. For the most part these are unposed genre scenes and taken together offer a portrait of the waterside human ecology.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LFSDVv-Zw2M/VHcc0TxpVYI/AAAAAAAAHRw/siA3KoptB-w/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LFSDVv-Zw2M/VHcc0TxpVYI/AAAAAAAAHRw/siA3KoptB-w/s1600/b.jpg" height="416" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1scBuVHhazc/VHcc0v0qgUI/AAAAAAAAHR0/pA9z4UVFOx4/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1scBuVHhazc/VHcc0v0qgUI/AAAAAAAAHR0/pA9z4UVFOx4/s1600/c.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_oB_9qgT_T8/VHcc1e3JT1I/AAAAAAAAHSA/5WBxCrNB3h4/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_oB_9qgT_T8/VHcc1e3JT1I/AAAAAAAAHSA/5WBxCrNB3h4/s1600/d.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0fTl9jDqUk/VHcc2bkGLVI/AAAAAAAAHSM/eyN0o_a0DW8/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0fTl9jDqUk/VHcc2bkGLVI/AAAAAAAAHSM/eyN0o_a0DW8/s1600/e.jpg" height="410" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/11/postcard-of-day-no-69-sakah-au-bord-du.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-6387444504899034886Mon, 24 Nov 2014 18:16:00 +00002014-12-16T15:25:34.884+00:00architecturebois de boulognefrank gehrylvmhparisFondation Louis-Vuitton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GO2MJYcuSNE/VJBMUYPqEzI/AAAAAAAAHZ0/GA2K0ArxVdQ/s1600/fva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GO2MJYcuSNE/VJBMUYPqEzI/AAAAAAAAHZ0/GA2K0ArxVdQ/s1600/fva.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After 6 years in construction the Fondation Louis-Vuitton opened in Paris at the end of last month. A landmark building on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne designed by “starchitect” Frank Gehry it marks another step in the convergence of the visual arts and commercial branding. The intention is to showcase the vast contemporary art collection assembled by Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, owner of the following brands (among others) Christian Dior, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Moët &amp; Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Hennessy, Glemorangie, Guerlain, Kenzo, Bulgari, TAG Heueur, Bon Marché, la Samaritaine, Séphora plus 10% of Carrefour supermarkets. It sounds like a store listing for a Dubai shopping mall - an awe inspiring basket of products most of us will seldom if ever purchase. But if we concede that the Tate Gallery was built and endowed on the proceeds of sugar and slavery then fashion, fragrance, wine, spirits and retailing doesn’t sound quite so bad. There’s not much in it - the rarefied world of haut couture is said to bring glamour and excitement into dull and tedious lives but by the time its innovations have filtered down to the consumer their main value seems to be a device for persuading the insecure and style conscious to replace their perfectly serviceable clothing with a new season’s offer. It’s fair to say that the fashion industry is a colossal engine of waste and a world leader in outsourcing labour to wherever is cheapest and free of tiresome regulation.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DS1RZCBVN70/VJBMUiaiL9I/AAAAAAAAHaM/VWvhlS6j0-4/s1600/fvb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DS1RZCBVN70/VJBMUiaiL9I/AAAAAAAAHaM/VWvhlS6j0-4/s1600/fvb.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It’s never a pretty sight watching the moguls of capitalism indulging their vanity projects and this promises to be no exception. Gehry has claimed that his inspiration came from the ferro-vitreous splendour of the Grand Palais and the Palmarium glass house in the adjacent Jardin d’Acclimatation (itself a part of the LVMH portfolio) but in a vainglorious exercise in creative arrogance the visual coherence of his sources has been discarded in favour of an assemblage of dismembered fragments. Over 3,500 glass panels, every one different, are locked together by an amazingly complex armature of braces, struts, brackets, clamps, trusses and engineered timbers designed by robots using specially designed software. We are invited to see the resulting segments as vast sails, bringing to mind an image of a stately vessel, gliding above the trees, powered solely by the gentle zephyrs. Photographs suggest that this harmonious vision may just be obtainable from a select few high-altitude viewpoints but for the earthbound majority it will remain a baffling cluster of tumbling forms. When I examined my own photographs (taken in May 2014) of which there were many I realised that I’d been searching for some point of balance or compositional integrity and dismally failed to find any.&nbsp;</span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6hpDSWxX2Cc/VJBMUXX3M9I/AAAAAAAAHZw/L8WXy9zKhu0/s1600/fvc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6hpDSWxX2Cc/VJBMUXX3M9I/AAAAAAAAHZw/L8WXy9zKhu0/s1600/fvc.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I would much prefer to be applauding the results of all this technological ingenuity and investment in space for the visual arts but the overwhelming egotism on display offers little inducement. There’s no shortage of reactionary critics ready in an instant to condemn anything outside their personal preconceptions but that’s the company you are placed in if you express reservations about Frank Gehry. As for the art, I don’t know whether to be pleased or dismayed that two artists I much admire (Ellsworth Kelly and Christian Boltanski) are among those chosen to make signature artworks for the inauguration. On balance I should be pleased, especially for Kelly, still productive at the age of 91. I suspect it won’t be long before the egregious Koons puts in an appearance but then only the super-rich like M. Arnault can have museums dedicated exclusively to their own personal taste. After 55 years, in 2069 the building becomes the property of the City of Paris, by which time the art will be made by robots for an audience of robots unless it has been repurposed as a Mosque in the North European Caliphate.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xIYttCNYx7g/VJBMVRlRN2I/AAAAAAAAHaA/q8CVj2F1BmY/s1600/fvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xIYttCNYx7g/VJBMVRlRN2I/AAAAAAAAHaA/q8CVj2F1BmY/s1600/fvd.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BCr0yg0a2PU/VJBMWR55XCI/AAAAAAAAHaI/_ihWxuRbBBE/s1600/fve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BCr0yg0a2PU/VJBMWR55XCI/AAAAAAAAHaI/_ihWxuRbBBE/s1600/fve.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/11/fondation-louis-vuitton.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-175042819348709367Wed, 12 Nov 2014 15:24:00 +00002014-11-14T10:38:17.462+00:00advertisingparachutestobaccowartime advertisingFalling Sales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lbQvzx1KkYs/VGN6xlygd4I/AAAAAAAAHPY/jC5romXqPls/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lbQvzx1KkYs/VGN6xlygd4I/AAAAAAAAHPY/jC5romXqPls/s640/a.jpg" width="484" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The drama of the parachute drop has been much used by advertisers to associate their products with the vital difference between life and death. Small wonder that these examples, bar one, come from the battlefield. Camel cigarettes campaigned for years to convince the public that the fastest route to personal courage was igniting a cigarette, with the promise of steady nerves in the face of danger. The wartime adverts come from the age of text-heavy publicity when the prevailing thinking was that the consumer could not fail to respond to a dozen paragraphs of closely reasoned persuasion. Only the final example dispenses with the verbiage which is ironic, given that British advertisers were the greatest of all offenders when it came to filling the page with insipid prose. I should add that an even larger selection of parachute imagery can be enjoyed by visiting the intimidatingly huge but always entertaining, <a href="http://advertisingcliche.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/parachuting">Visual Primer of Advertising Clichés</a>.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AC2YkA654tg/VGN6zd3rk8I/AAAAAAAAHPk/HI0EXMMioEs/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AC2YkA654tg/VGN6zd3rk8I/AAAAAAAAHPk/HI0EXMMioEs/s640/b.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Z-59CX-fOw/VGN6zHLMnUI/AAAAAAAAHPg/wdvMh1Q-GI8/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Z-59CX-fOw/VGN6zHLMnUI/AAAAAAAAHPg/wdvMh1Q-GI8/s640/c.jpg" width="494" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChIv-PCxaqU/VGN601xaciI/AAAAAAAAHPw/AiRScdIT5Mc/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChIv-PCxaqU/VGN601xaciI/AAAAAAAAHPw/AiRScdIT5Mc/s640/d.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-60uBHpjuIDg/VGN62bE1nVI/AAAAAAAAHP4/-kVhenU9oD4/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-60uBHpjuIDg/VGN62bE1nVI/AAAAAAAAHP4/-kVhenU9oD4/s640/e.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6NUzbI_3ckQ/VGN63OtjaWI/AAAAAAAAHP8/Yuncn20NlSw/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6NUzbI_3ckQ/VGN63OtjaWI/AAAAAAAAHP8/Yuncn20NlSw/s640/f.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/11/falling-sales.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-3835274331759179704Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:02:00 +00002014-10-31T16:02:02.001+00:00advertisingamericanacelebrity endorsementUnlikely Endorsements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O732JPcYSAs/VFOv_86zCVI/AAAAAAAAHNw/0ZDnzXnSmGM/s1600/ca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O732JPcYSAs/VFOv_86zCVI/AAAAAAAAHNw/0ZDnzXnSmGM/s1600/ca.jpg" height="640" width="484" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Celebrities who lend their fame and standing to advertisers have featured here in the past but mainly as brand ambassadors for tobacco or beauty products – the nicotine jungle and the fragrant realm of cosmetics were the natural habitat for the Hollywood star in need of extra pocket money. Today we present a selection of some of the more unlikely product endorsements to cross our path. Starting with automotive products where the ethereal glamour of Madeleine Carroll seems a long way from the oil and grease of the motor service bay. No surprise to see Bing Crosby lend a hand – never known to turn down a request. Jack Carson (memorably egregious in <i>Mildred Pierce</i>) does his bit for Ford Trucks in a movie tie-in but Alan Ladd’s enthusiasm for the diminutive charms of the Whizzer takes some believing. In the home of two-wheeled monsters like the Harley-Davidson and the Indian Chief Black Hawk it seems almost un-American to sing the praises of the humble Whizzer. Food products were unfamiliar territory for the average star and while Gene Kelly presiding over a barbecue is quite credible, it’s difficult to accept the idea of Rita Hayworth preparing a round of sandwiches. Bing’s lugubrious expression suggests that the kitchen table is a long way from his comfort zone. Finally – we have Rita (a lady who hated to say no) again and Shirley Temple commending some very basic items of furniture before Ray Milland closes the show with some family fun with power tools.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ak6B7b7DkTs/VFOwBzdLYEI/AAAAAAAAHN8/Nvov3c6sQyQ/s1600/cb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ak6B7b7DkTs/VFOwBzdLYEI/AAAAAAAAHN8/Nvov3c6sQyQ/s1600/cb.jpg" height="640" width="498" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A5O3MZoTBsU/VFOwBIMucBI/AAAAAAAAHN4/0jyTDBfMoc8/s1600/cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A5O3MZoTBsU/VFOwBIMucBI/AAAAAAAAHN4/0jyTDBfMoc8/s1600/cc.jpg" height="640" width="484" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oXJmf3R3EVA/VFOwECRSGLI/AAAAAAAAHOI/wzlGUfpoNj8/s1600/cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oXJmf3R3EVA/VFOwECRSGLI/AAAAAAAAHOI/wzlGUfpoNj8/s1600/cd.jpg" height="640" width="496" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SfC643zj028/VFOwF65kJrI/AAAAAAAAHOQ/ZoukSga8RPU/s1600/ce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SfC643zj028/VFOwF65kJrI/AAAAAAAAHOQ/ZoukSga8RPU/s1600/ce.jpg" height="640" width="252" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9tCut6Kjd70/VFOwHaBcWuI/AAAAAAAAHOY/7zfmQcGax2o/s1600/cf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9tCut6Kjd70/VFOwHaBcWuI/AAAAAAAAHOY/7zfmQcGax2o/s1600/cf.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rX3C6RdtcZM/VFOwJi2qx8I/AAAAAAAAHOg/8J35zPsn3So/s1600/cg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rX3C6RdtcZM/VFOwJi2qx8I/AAAAAAAAHOg/8J35zPsn3So/s1600/cg.jpg" height="640" width="470" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xhTF7KpYhy4/VFOwM4Vok1I/AAAAAAAAHOo/Z9TT3ein9qU/s1600/ch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xhTF7KpYhy4/VFOwM4Vok1I/AAAAAAAAHOo/Z9TT3ein9qU/s1600/ch.jpg" height="640" width="488" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tW5-buXdpaQ/VFOwNx8fnyI/AAAAAAAAHOw/I5d_UXwELKI/s1600/ci.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tW5-buXdpaQ/VFOwNx8fnyI/AAAAAAAAHOw/I5d_UXwELKI/s1600/ci.jpg" height="640" width="496" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_DSNo1wqho/VFOwP5XnzYI/AAAAAAAAHO4/5wiUVSaMtQM/s1600/cj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_DSNo1wqho/VFOwP5XnzYI/AAAAAAAAHO4/5wiUVSaMtQM/s1600/cj.jpg" height="640" width="466" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSRBexDgix8/VFOwTNx_f9I/AAAAAAAAHPA/OjZRpudoTEA/s1600/ck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSRBexDgix8/VFOwTNx_f9I/AAAAAAAAHPA/OjZRpudoTEA/s1600/ck.jpg" height="640" width="474" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yo9aFO6IJH8/VFOwgbD4ExI/AAAAAAAAHPI/jbbUG7kuzSU/s1600/cl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yo9aFO6IJH8/VFOwgbD4ExI/AAAAAAAAHPI/jbbUG7kuzSU/s1600/cl.jpg" height="640" width="490" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/10/unlikely-endorsements.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-3477084416324433586Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:25:00 +00002014-10-29T14:25:27.262+00:00architectureart nouveaucasa galimbertimilanstile libertyCasa Galimberti – an Illustrated Building in Milan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gs_0p9NFb64/VFD2vlt9V4I/AAAAAAAAHMs/HSRMY2dLzNU/s1600/cg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gs_0p9NFb64/VFD2vlt9V4I/AAAAAAAAHMs/HSRMY2dLzNU/s1600/cg.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Italian architects developed their own version of <i>Art Nouveau</i> in which they had the freedom to experiment in terms of decoration and ornamentation without feeling any pressure to be innovative in terms of form or spatial organisation. It was given the name <i>Stile Liberty</i> (in honour of the Regent Street department store whose affordable <i>Art Nouveau</i> product lines were much sought after in Italy) and enjoyed its greatest public acceptance in Piedmont and Lombardy – much boosted by the Turin Exhibition in 1902. Most examples of <i>Stile Liberty</i> buildings are formally conservative, Classical and Baroque variants, occasionally with Medievalist elements. Concessions to fashion were confined to the surfaces in the form of carved figures, slithery organic wrought-iron, painted panels and ceramic decorative schemes showing a strong preference for floral or other natural forms.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpSWzaSiXVg/VFD2vQgeGGI/AAAAAAAAHMo/-kU9emGkSIc/s1600/ga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpSWzaSiXVg/VFD2vQgeGGI/AAAAAAAAHMo/-kU9emGkSIc/s1600/ga.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Casa Galimberti in Milan is a classic example of a pictorial building – a 1905 apartment block where visual interest derives primarily from the spectacular surface imagery. The architect, Giovanni Battista Bossi (1864-1924), had two designers on his team, one responsible for the figurative ceramic panels that run along the building at first floor level and one for the vertical panels of painted foliage that climb the second and third floors. The figurative panels present a hedonistic vision calculated to grab attention - curvaceous female figures in revealing costume and a few male companions disport themselves, gathering fruit, drinking wine, listening to music and engaging in a little light flirtation. Galimberti was a property developer who bought the site from the city authority when the stables that previously occupied it became redundant as electric trams supplanted the horse-drawn variety. It may well be that a commercial imperative lay behind the decision to surround the building with steamy imagery.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lGPhb5uJqE/VFD2wAktLSI/AAAAAAAAHM0/g_C5XrzzhLc/s1600/gb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lGPhb5uJqE/VFD2wAktLSI/AAAAAAAAHM0/g_C5XrzzhLc/s1600/gb.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qgBIB_j06f4/VFD2xXltj1I/AAAAAAAAHNA/x6Ogn_NtTNA/s1600/gc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qgBIB_j06f4/VFD2xXltj1I/AAAAAAAAHNA/x6Ogn_NtTNA/s1600/gc.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kjglu-GwxPU/VFD2yTl4HaI/AAAAAAAAHNI/C9QhD4Ce_-Q/s1600/gd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kjglu-GwxPU/VFD2yTl4HaI/AAAAAAAAHNI/C9QhD4Ce_-Q/s1600/gd.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e1bL7BWd-6Q/VFD2zVrWAEI/AAAAAAAAHNQ/xZydZaKHaus/s1600/ge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e1bL7BWd-6Q/VFD2zVrWAEI/AAAAAAAAHNQ/xZydZaKHaus/s1600/ge.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XKO2JEMENa8/VFD20fzzzgI/AAAAAAAAHNY/wQbMDGs6Y14/s1600/gf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XKO2JEMENa8/VFD20fzzzgI/AAAAAAAAHNY/wQbMDGs6Y14/s1600/gf.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qD7acU6UkFs/VFD21GmQ02I/AAAAAAAAHNg/Oc_AnOPb1fM/s1600/gg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qD7acU6UkFs/VFD21GmQ02I/AAAAAAAAHNg/Oc_AnOPb1fM/s1600/gg.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/10/casa-galimberti-illustrated-building-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-7339296479434529764Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:26:00 +00002014-10-16T17:26:05.704+01:00deposito messinaindustrial architecturemilanmilanotramstrams MilantransportMachine Age Temple in Milan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JozWYmRwRdk/VD_tjxUKuxI/AAAAAAAAHL4/34KePwk4yF0/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JozWYmRwRdk/VD_tjxUKuxI/AAAAAAAAHL4/34KePwk4yF0/s1600/a.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One of the less celebrated attractions of Milan is Deposito Messina, a delirious assemblage of cast-iron and glass built in 1912 to accommodate some 150 of the city’s trams. I like to think that the grandeur of this construction reflects the high esteem in which trams are held by the citizens of Milan. It has the air of a building conceived to impress and for the humble tram there can be no better shelter anywhere else. A glazed roof flies high overhead supported on iron piers and trusses while at ground level there are two enormous bays each placed at 45° either side of a central access road. The unprepossessing exterior on Via Messina gives little hint of the glories to be found inside. Not everyone is going to want to trek out to see it for themselves but for those who do, tram routes 12 and 14 from the city centre run along Via Messina. Alight at Cenisio and walk back – less than 5 minutes.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kW9VB213t90/VD_tmLjUEZI/AAAAAAAAHMI/y94FtORvk1I/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kW9VB213t90/VD_tmLjUEZI/AAAAAAAAHMI/y94FtORvk1I/s1600/b.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">By 1912 the Italian Futurist love affair with movement and speed was already underway and both Boccioni (<a href="http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu120/artrip/en/gallery_02.html">The Forces of the Street</a>) and Carrà (What the Tram Told Me) had identified the urban tram as a key emblem of modernity, placing it at the centre of their compositions. This building seems animated by the same spirit – a Machine Age Temple to the Tram. Finally, I must acknowledge the expertise of tram-chaser extraordinaire, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/milantram/">Peter Ehrlich</a>, whose invariably splendid photographs brought this wondrous place to my attention.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mGyQ3ucRms/VD_tk1x3p0I/AAAAAAAAHMA/u2hSKQKHiF8/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mGyQ3ucRms/VD_tk1x3p0I/AAAAAAAAHMA/u2hSKQKHiF8/s1600/c.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hAhFMUG8aEg/VD_tnllGIOI/AAAAAAAAHMQ/f8IUfFtKv3Y/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hAhFMUG8aEg/VD_tnllGIOI/AAAAAAAAHMQ/f8IUfFtKv3Y/s1600/d.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qUd33QjsgAE/VD_toTth2RI/AAAAAAAAHMU/MnDclgg3b5o/s1600/e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qUd33QjsgAE/VD_toTth2RI/AAAAAAAAHMU/MnDclgg3b5o/s1600/e.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/10/machine-age-temple-in-milan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65501308820871089.post-3872317819298275689Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:12:00 +00002014-10-14T17:12:07.921+01:00architecturebosco verticalemilanTree House in Milan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UJ7t8ApOTTA/VD1KVNSYsII/AAAAAAAAHLA/7qJag8E26w0/s1600/bva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UJ7t8ApOTTA/VD1KVNSYsII/AAAAAAAAHLA/7qJag8E26w0/s1600/bva.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Green buildings, clad with vegetation have been around for a decade or more (the example below is from Quai Branly in Paris, 2006) but the recently completed Bosco Verticale in Milan extends the concept to include entire trees. Tree planting has become commonplace in hotel and corporate atriums the world over but this is the first example of trees migrating to the façade of a building. Bosco Verticale comprises two towers, of 18 and 26 floors and is on the edge an enormous regeneration project named Porta Nuova, close to Porta Garibaldi station, north of the city centre. The architect, Stefano Boeri, designed the two blocks with terracing to accommodate up to 730 trees (between 3 and 6m in height) together with 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 perennials. As the years go by and the trees grow it will present a novel management problem to ensure the trees are kept free of disease and pruned to avoid becoming too big for the building.&nbsp;</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rvXRSP73BYM/VD1KVm6T7RI/AAAAAAAAHLE/nrGruqVAj0k/s1600/bvb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rvXRSP73BYM/VD1KVm6T7RI/AAAAAAAAHLE/nrGruqVAj0k/s1600/bvb.jpg" height="444" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The rationale for this adventurous project is to combat air and noise pollution (Milan has some of the worst air quality in Italy) and to offer the residents of the 400 apartments some direct experience of the natural world. There is a lower proportion of open space in Milan than in any other major Italian city. Tests have shown that the tree cover will act as insulation against winter cold and mitigate the build-up of high temperatures in summer sun. What is visible now is only the beginning of the scheme and the foliage looks a little thin at present. When mature in 5 to 10 years time it has the potential to look spectacular.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2PfvhR0Z2_Y/VD1KWe3NdtI/AAAAAAAAHLQ/MmuONGIwFRg/s1600/bvc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2PfvhR0Z2_Y/VD1KWe3NdtI/AAAAAAAAHLQ/MmuONGIwFRg/s1600/bvc.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PhaDFrIBnRg/VD1KXPx_xHI/AAAAAAAAHLU/bFpDF8GTuRQ/s1600/bvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PhaDFrIBnRg/VD1KXPx_xHI/AAAAAAAAHLU/bFpDF8GTuRQ/s1600/bvd.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9_-DFXKxf1Y/VD1KYPCyosI/AAAAAAAAHLg/xouj83y9fow/s1600/bve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9_-DFXKxf1Y/VD1KYPCyosI/AAAAAAAAHLg/xouj83y9fow/s1600/bve.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aqEj0aJb2DI/VD1KZKqgYQI/AAAAAAAAHLo/TdaC3Awj-Ck/s1600/bvf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aqEj0aJb2DI/VD1KZKqgYQI/AAAAAAAAHLo/TdaC3Awj-Ck/s1600/bvf.jpg" /></a></div><br />http://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2014/10/tree-house-in-milan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Phil Beard)0